Vertical axis wind turbine system with one or more independent electric power generation units

A wind turbine system comprising:

• a wind turbine unit comprising a carousel-carrier and a carousel rotatably supported on the carousel-carrier, wherein
• a vertical channel extends through a radial center of the carousel-carrier for reception of a vertical mast, and a peripheral channel extends circumferentially around an outer surface of the carousel-carrier for receiving and rotatably supporting the carousel,
• the carousel comprises a carousel-hub, a pair of carousel arms extending from the carousel-hub, and a carousel blade extending between the pair of carousel arms,
• the turbine unit is a modular turbine unit that is an assembly of multiple turbine segments, the turbine segments being circumferential segments that releasably couple to adjacent turbine segments, and
• a rotating electrical joint for transmitting an electrical power between the carousel-carrier and the carousel, the rotating electrical joint comprising a slip ring and a number of slip ring brushes mounted for rotating engagement with the modular slip ring, wherein the slip ring is a modular slip ring that is an assembly of multiple slip ring segments, the slip ring segments being circumferential segments that releasably couple to adjacent slip ring segments.

A wind turbine system comprising:

• a wind turbine unit comprising a carousel-carrier and a carousel rotatably supported on the carousel-carrier, wherein
• a vertical channel extends through a radial center of the carousel-carrier for reception of a vertical mast, and a peripheral channel extends circumferentially around an outer surface of the carousel-carrier for receiving and rotatably supporting the carousel,
• the carousel comprises a carousel-hub, a pair of carousel arms extending from the carousel-hub, and a carousel blade extending between the pair of carousel arms,
• the turbine unit is a modular turbine unit that is an assembly of multiple turbine segments, the turbine segments being circumferential segments that releasably couple to adjacent turbine segments, and
• a carousel rotation system for rotating the carousel on the carousel-carrier, the carousel rotation system comprising a crown gear and a pinion mounted for rotating engagement with the crown gear, wherein the crown gear is a modular crown gear that is an assembly of multiple crown gear segments.

A wind turbine system comprising:

• a wind turbine unit comprising a carousel-carrier and a carousel rotatably supported on the carousel-carrier, wherein
• a vertical channel extends through a radial center of the carousel-carrier for reception of a vertical mast, and a peripheral channel extends circumferentially around an outer surface of the carousel-carrier for receiving and rotatably supporting the carousel,
• the carousel comprises a carousel-hub, a pair of carousel arms extending from the carousel-hub, and a carousel blade extending between the pair of carousel arms,
• the turbine unit is a modular turbine unit that is an assembly of multiple turbine segments, the turbine segments being circumferential segments that releasably couple to adjacent turbine segments, and
• a carousel braking system for braking the carousel against rotation on the carousel-carrier, the carousel braking system comprising a brake rotor and a number of brake calipers mounted for braking engagement with the brake rotor, wherein the brake rotor is a modular brake rotor that is an assembly of multiple brake rotor segments.

A wind turbine system comprising:

• a wind turbine unit comprising a carousel-carrier and a carousel rotatably supported on the carousel-carrier, wherein
• a vertical channel extends through a radial center of the carousel-carrier for reception of a vertical mast, and a peripheral channel extends circumferentially around an outer surface of the carousel-carrier for receiving and rotatably supporting the carousel,
• the carousel comprises a carousel-hub, a pair of carousel arms extending from the carousel-hub, and a carousel blade extending between the pair of carousel arms,
• the turbine unit is a modular turbine unit that is an assembly of multiple turbine segments, the turbine segments being circumferential segments that releasably couple to adjacent turbine segments,
• the carousel-carrier is a modular carousel-carrier that is an assembly of multiple carousel-carrier segments, the carousel-carrier segments being circumferential segments that releasably couple to adjacent carousel-carrier segments,
• the carousel-hub is a modular carousel-hub that is an assembly of multiple carousel-hub segments, the carousel-hub segments being circumferential segments that releasably couple to adjacent carousel-hub segments,
• the carousel-carrier segments comprise first braking mechanisms and the carousel-hub segments comprise second braking mechanisms, the first and second braking mechanisms being engageable to secure the carousel-hub segments to corresponding carousel-carrier segments, and
• an individual turbine segment comprises a carousel-carrier segment and a carousel-hub segment that are secured to one another by first and second braking mechanisms, the individual turbine segment being releasably couplable to adjacent turbine segments while the carousel-carrier segment and the carousel-hub segment are secured by the first and second braking mechanisms such that the turbine segments are configured to enable assembly of the turbine unit from the multiple turbine segments contemporaneously with assembly of the carousel-carrier from the multiple carousel-carrier segments and assembly of the carousel-hub from the multiple carousel-hub segments.

A method of assembling a turbine system,

• the turbine system comprising:
• a wind turbine unit comprising a carousel-carrier and a carousel rotatably supported on the carousel-carrier, wherein
• a vertical channel extends through a radial center of the carousel-carrier for reception of a vertical mast, and a peripheral channel extends circumferentially around an outer surface of the carousel-carrier or receiving and rotatably supporting the carousel,
• the carousel comprise a carousel-hub, a pair of carousel arms, and a carousel blade extending between the pair of carousel arms, and
• the turbine unit is a modular turbine unit that is an assembly of multiple turbine segments, the turbine segments being circumferential segments that releasably couple to adjacent turbine segments,
• the method comprising:
• coupling together a number of turbine segments to yield an assembled turbine unit, wherein
• the number of turbine segments are coupled together around the foot of a vertical mast, such that the assembled turbine unit is mounted on the vertical mast,
• the carousel-carrier is a modular carousel-carrier that is an assembly of multiple carousel-carrier segments, the carousel-carrier segments being circumferential segments that releasably couple to adjacent carousel-carrier segments,
• the carousel-hub is a modular carousel-hub that is an assembly of multiple carousel-hub segments, the carousel-hub segments being circumferential segments that releasably couple to adjacent carousel-hub segments,
• the carousel-carrier segments comprise first braking mechanisms and the carousel-hub segments comprise second braking mechanisms, the first and second braking mechanisms being engageable to secure the carousel-hub segments to corresponding carousel-carrier segments, and
• the method further comprises:
• assembling individual turbine segments by joining individual carousel-hub segments to corresponding individual carousel-carrier segments, and securing the individual carousel-hub segments to the corresponding individual carousel-carrier segments by engaging the respective first and second braking mechanisms, and
• while the individual carousel-hub segments are secured to the corresponding individual carousel-carrier segments by the first and second braking mechanisms, coupling together the number of turbine segments to yield the assembled turbine unit by coupling carousel-carrier segments in the individual turbine segments to adjacent carousel-carrier segments in adjacent turbine segments and coupling carousel-hub segments in the individual turbine segments to adjacent carousel-hub segments in adjacent turbine segments.